Empirical Finance LLC Has $5.10 Million Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $258.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.29. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $149.14 and a 1 year high of $263.85.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.56.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,331 shares of company stock worth $16,415,812 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.